Colorado University energy conservation paying off – Consumption declines in 2003

After years of increases, the University of Colorado decreased energy consumption in 2003 compared with 2002 — a feat attributed in part to energy awareness campaigns.

As the student population grew and computers and other electronic devices became more and more prevalent, campus energy consumption increased about 5 percent per square foot each year for a decade, according to the school’s 2001-02 annual report. The 5 percent increase — about 1 megawatt — equates to the amount of energy typically needed to serve 1,000 Colorado homes, Xcel Energy spokesman Mark Stutz said.

By Cat Carroll, For the Camera

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/buffzone_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2448_2964142,00.html

In May 2001, Vice Chancellor of Administration Paul Tabolt encouraged the CU community to reduce consumption by 5 percent and created a committee to push toward the goal.

Three years later, CU has made several improvements. The Buff Energy Star Awards conservation program was recently created to recognize building occupants who meet goals for reduced consumption, among other items.

Program Director Moe Tabrizi said he hopes the program will further aid CU’s efforts to become more energy-efficient, but the campus has already made some progress in the past few years — despite the continued growth of the campus population and use of electronics.

"Last year, for the first time in a decade, the campus energy use has gone down," Tabrizi said.

By using more efficient light bulbs, installing occupancy sensors that automatically turn off lights in empty rooms, insulating steam pipes and implementing other energy-saving practices, CU cut its energy usage by 2.2 percent per square foot, he said. The 2002 figure of 121,719,160 kilowatt hours was decreased to 120,662,203 kilowatt hours in 2003, according to a January 2004 conservation program progress report.

Water usage dropped by almost 11 percent per square foot, Tabrizi said. With projects such as replacing a water aspirator with a small, efficient water pump, he said the Cristol Chemistry Building was able to save a lot of money.

While lab buildings such as Cristol encounter energy usage problems because of the activities that take place there, other factors, such as size and age, contribute to a building’s efficiency level as well.

"Our building has a lot of glass windows," College of Architecture and Planning staff member Jane Nakama said. "We’re an older building, so there’s certainly the issue of heating loss through the windows."

Those glass windows also caused Tabrizi to notice that the lights in the building sometimes remained on at all hours. Nakama said an energy audit of the building recommended installing occupancy sensors to prevent unneeded lighting use.

"Our biggest issue was safety for our students," she said, explaining that the sensors needed a little tinkering before they worked properly in the building, which is open 24 hours a day for the students who use it.

The new conservation program will work to make all buildings more efficient, regardless of their current energy use, Tabrizi said.

"There is also a public education component to it," he said.

CU is also working on increasing its use of renewable energy through the use of wind and solar power.

Nakama said her only other worry is an aesthetic one. "I’d hate to lose these lovely old windows," she said. "It’s a trade-off, always."